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Related Concept Videos

Cleavage and Blastulation01:33

Cleavage and Blastulation

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After a large-single-celled zygote is produced via fertilization, the process of cleavage occurs while zygotes travel through the uterine tube. Cleavage is a mitotic cell division that does not result in growth. With each round of successive cell division, daughter cells get increasingly smaller.
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Positioning the cell division plane is a critical step during development and cell differentiation, particularly during mitosis when the plane is essential for determining the size of the two daughter cells. The cell division plane is perpendicular to the plane of chromosome segregation, but different types of organisms have different cell division mechanisms to suit their morphology and function. 
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The double-stranded structure of DNA has two major advantages. First, it serves as a safe repository of genetic information where one strand serves as the back-up in case the other strand is damaged. Second, the double-helical structure can be wrapped around proteins called histones to form nucleosomes, which can then be tightly wound to form chromosomes. This way, DNA chains up to 2 inches long can be contained within microscopic structures in a cell. A double-stranded break not only damages...
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DNA replication is initiated at sites containing predefined DNA sequences known as origins of replication. DNA is unwound at these sites by the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase and other factors such as Cdc45 and the associated GINS complex.The unwound single strands are protected by replication protein A (RPA) until DNA polymerase starts synthesizing DNA at the 5’ end of the strand in the same direction as the replication fork. To prevent the replication fork from falling apart,...
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Unsymmetrical bending occurs when the bending moment applied to a structural member does not align with its principal axis. This misalignment leads to complex stress distributions and deflection patterns that differ from those in symmetrical bending, and are essential for designing structures to withstand different loading conditions. In unsymmetrical bending, the neutral axis—where stress is zero—does not necessarily align with the geometric axes of the cross-section. The...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Blastomere Explants to Test for Cell Fate Commitment During Embryonic Development
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Unravelling spiral cleavage.

José M Martín-Durán1, Ferdinand Marlétaz2

  • 1Queen Mary, University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Mile End Road, E1 4NS London, UK chema.martin@qmul.ac.uk.

Development (Cambridge, England)
|January 4, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Spiral cleavage is a widespread animal embryonic development process found in snails, earthworms, and flatworms. Advances in genome editing and phylogenetics offer new insights into this fundamental developmental pattern.

Keywords:
Cell fatesCell lineagesDevelopmental plasticityEmerging model systemsPhylogenySpiral cleavage

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Zoology

Background:

  • Spiral cleavage is a conserved early embryogenesis mode observed across diverse animal phyla, including mollusks and annelids.
  • This developmental process is likely ancestral to a significant portion of the animal kingdom, making it crucial for understanding animal evolution.
  • Despite its prevalence, the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying spiral cleavage remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the significance of spiral cleavage in animal development and evolution.
  • To underscore the current limitations in our understanding of spiral cleavage.
  • To emphasize the potential of recent technological advancements for future research into spiral cleavage.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on spiral cleavage.
  • Analysis of recent technical advancements in developmental biology research.
  • Consideration of improved phylogenetic methods.

Main Results:

  • Spiral cleavage is a widespread and evolutionarily important mode of early embryogenesis.
  • Current knowledge of spiral cleavage mechanisms is limited.
  • New technologies are poised to significantly advance the study of spiral cleavage.

Conclusions:

  • Further investigation into spiral cleavage is essential for understanding broad patterns of animal development and evolution.
  • Emerging technologies like genome editing and enhanced phylogenetic analyses provide powerful new tools to explore spiral cleavage.
  • A deeper understanding of spiral cleavage will illuminate the evolutionary history of numerous animal lineages.